The King of Baseball

Posted by Robert Christy Dec 11, 2006

At last week's baseball winter meetings, Paul Snyder was named the 2006 "King of Baseball" by Minor League Baseball. He was honored for his years of dedicated service to the sport.

Snyder, 67, is the director of baseball operations for the Atlanta Braves.

To be honest, I've never heard of this award. From what I've read, this is a REALLY big deal. I spend a little time here and there looking over the minor league reports, but this one really jumped out at me.

When you think of the number of people in baseball below the major league level, it makes sense to honor people who have given their lives to the sport they love.

Snyder has been in baseball his entire adult life having served as the Braves director of scouting for years. Some of the players he is responsible for signing include: Bob Horner, Dale Murphy, Tommy Glavine, Chipper Jones, David Justice and Javy Lopez to name just a few.

When you look at the Braves record of success, GM John Schuerholz and manager Bobby Cox get most of the credit for all of the Division titles. The keystone of their success is the breadth and depth of the minor league system. Paul Snyder is the person responsible for best minor league system in baseball. No mention of the Braves minor league system is complete without mentioning the contributions of Paul Snyder.

For Snyder, the honors didn't stop there. He was also named as one of Baseball America's 25 most influential people in baseball over the past 25 years. Other Braves making that list include General Manager John Scherholz and CF Andruw Jones.